Novigrad Northern Loop

Level of difficulty 3  |  Gastronomy 2 |  Length 13.3 km  Time 3 - 4 hours

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Novigrad's north is characterized by relaxing bays, interesting underwater worlds and rugged rock formations. There are also cute beach bars with great views at regular intervals.

General information

• Novigrad tourist information
• Istria tourist information
• Novigrad Wikipedia
• Istria Wikipedia
• Tour video
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

The beaches around Novigrad are very popular and accordingly there are enough swimmers in the water - they have to be by-passed and given priority. The same applies to the motor boats, yachts and taxi boats along the route. Ships are not to be expected, but of course they have priority.

Dangers and risks

The small Karpinjan Beach is walled towards the marina so that the water is thrown back into the sea along the vertical walls. When there are waves, you should rather use the pebble beach to the west.

At sea, it is always important to plan tours according to the tides. This is also the case here, so that you have enough water level along the rocky coast to protect the SUP from sharp rocks. Wind and swell should also be evaluated in advance, but with a bit of luck you will enjoy an almost calm sea here.

From time to time you could come across small black sea urchins on the rock formations along the shore. Only disembark if necessary and only with appropriate footwear!

Of course, the open sea also has its typical dangers here and should therefore only be crossed by experienced paddlers. It is advisable to have a buoyancy aid with you and, if possible, not to paddle alone!

During the high season, watch out for swimmers and other watercraft. Fishermen, on the other hand, can be found on the banks almost all year round. In addition to the sharp rock formations, this is another reason not to paddle too close to the shore.

If you end the tour prematurely in the bay of Karigador, i.e. after half the distance, take particular care along the road as the sidewalk is very narrow. It is best to transport the SUP on the side facing away from the road, or to deflate it on the shore.

Directions

From the centrally located roundabout at the Plodine supermarket, drive the D75 northwest towards Umag, pass two more roundabouts in quick succession and turn left towards Karpinjan Beach after 120 m (into Kastanija Street, along the harbour). Shortly before the tennis court there is a paid parking lot (€1 per hour / as of 2025), at the last tennis court there is a free parking lot (entrance to the restaurant Lungomare).

Public transport connections to Novigrad or at least the surrounding area can be found on Omio and Busbud. From the center you walk to the starting point of this paddle tour in decent time if you carry the SUP in your backpack.

Parking

On Kastanija Street, shortly before the tennis courts there is a paid parking lot on the left (€1 per hour/ as of 2025), at the last tennis court there is a free parking lot (entrance to the restaurant Lungomare). From both parking lots you reach the beach in one minute.

There is a free parking lot for shuttle vehicles directly on the shore in Karigador.

Swimming

Novigrad's most famous bathing beach - Karpinjan Beach - stretches north of the town's center for about 500 m in length, with the longest section being a stone and pebble beach and the shorter section consisting of concrete plateaus. The shallow shore is particularly ideal for children and the elderly, which is why it is usually very busy.

In addition to a wide range of sports facilities, bathers will also find gastronomy, sanitary facilities, parking spaces and shadowy pine trees

The average water temperature is impressive all year round: in summer it is 22 – 24° C, in late autumn and spring it is still around 18° C. Even the coldest months still measure around 10° C, which means you could also dare to cool down after a winter paddling tour, as long as the notorious fall winds (bora) do not trigger storm warnings.

There are also swimming opportunities along the entire bay in the villages of Dalja and Karigador. All water access points are free and often have showers, toilets and wheelchair access. Between Dalja and Karigador, you can even enjoy sand instead of pebbles at low tide. However, the following official beaches are rocky:

Plaža Dajla
Stone age Strand
Beach Dalja

Tour

From Karpinjan Beach, turn right along the coast to the village of Karigador and back again.

Length

13.3 km

Time

3 - 4 hours

Start and landing

Along Karpinjan Beach in the north of Novigrad.

SUP rental

Jetski Novigrad
Kastanija 1, 52466 Novigrad
Phone +385 (0)91 604 2121

Jetski Novigrad
Kastanija 15, 52466 Novigrad
Phone +385 (0)91 604 2121

Belistra Water Sports
Livada ul. 13, 52466 Novigrad
Phone +385 (0)91 5228 810

PulaKayakRental
Mobile SUP rental in Istria
Teslina 30, 52100 Pula
Phone +385 (0)977 636 590

Underwater cinema and nudist coves

The time has finally come again and I can get my old boat, which has served me well for the past six years, out of the cellar and take it to Istria. This year's first sea route takes me back to my beloved Novigrad and leads me along the coast north of the harbor town to the inconspicuous village of Karigador.

Just like two years ago, when I paddled south to Lanterna, I park my car for free at the tennis courts at Karpinjan Beach. The paid parking lot next to it, on the other hand, has become thirty cents more expensive and already costs one euro per hour in 2025. As it was Mother's Day only yesterday, I set sail in the early season and take advantage of the almost deserted beach.

Today I can choose my starting spot on the pebble beach without stress and am once again delighted by the clarity of the Croatian coastal water. Every stone is visible in detail and I am entertained by the underwater world from the very first few meters. You could almost think that there is everything down there that is lacking above the water: stony elevations and rocky valleys, but sometimes also sandy bottoms.

The entire coast is also fully developed for cyclists, who can cycle from here to Umag on well-maintained roads. The route runs along the sea for the most part and is highly recommended. I, on the other hand, work my way forward on the water from rock formation to rock formation across the absolutely calm sea. A light south-westerly wind favors my progress towards Karigador and doesn't stop the occasional nude swimmers from dropping their coverings.

As there is good access to the sea almost everywhere and many spots are well hidden, it is not surprising that there are naked people frying their skin on the warm stone floor in every bay. Sometimes they are hard to spot, as their darkly burnt skin almost matches the colors and shades of the rocks.

Nevertheless, contrasts are omnipresent here, as the bays turn the initially azure-blue water into a light turquoise bathtub with white gravel floors, while up along the narrow coastal road the lush green of the vegetation enters into a tantalizing dance with the red earth and the blue sky.

After three kilometers this color spectacle is taken to the extreme when the white and rich turquoise of the Dog Dreams Bar try to match the surrounding colors. Here I lay my board on the gravel beach and enjoy the elevated view over the tranquil bay with a drink and relaxing music. This spot is not only a dream for dogs, but also for paddling bipeds.

Later, I paddle past neat stone houses into the next bay, whose shore and hinterland are completely taken over by the Croatian hotel chain Aminess. It's already lunchtime and several SUPs from the Aminess Maravea campsite and the Amber Sea Luxury Village are also setting sail. Today they are also enjoying the luxury of the tourist-free water, because in a month's time it is guaranteed to be a little busier here.

If you want your SUP to last a little longer, it is advisable to always keep a sufficient distance from the mainland along the coast and to keep a constant eye on the seabed. Even if there is a clearly visible drop of up to an estimated six meters, there are plenty of rocky shallows that can quickly act like incisors on the SUPs at low tide or if you take a subpar route. As soon as the air bubbles start to rise, you'll be lucky to get ashore in time.

That's why I circumnavigate the small peninsula after Tenerife Beach in a wide arc to get to my next destination, the bay of Karigador. Before I pass some historic buildings, such as the monastery in Dalija, on the right-hand side of the shore, I pass a few nudists on the rocky peninsula, some of which also being of historic type. The bay is densely populated thanks to the villages of Dalja and Karigador and there are also a number of bars and restaurants close to the shore. A few beaches and even a small section of sandy beach pimp up the surroundings.

If you finish the tour here, for example, you can glide across the sandy bottom in the shallow zone near the sandy beach in front of the traffic circle and get out of the water at a meadow. From here you either go to a car parked on the spot or a few meters further to the next bus stop. All other stand-up paddlers should consider paddling in an arc to the quay and the Amaii Beach Bar behind it. Here, too, there is a relaxed atmosphere with far-reaching views and good opportunities to go ashore.

I turn around in the area of the beach bar and treat myself to the return trip to Novigrad by the water. Fortunately, there is no significant headwind on the way back out of Karigador Bay and I decide - partly due to time constraints - not to paddle out to all the bays, but to paddle back across the open sea. A little taste of deep-sea paddling with the safety of the coast no more than 500 m away is definitely a good end to this tour. If you step on the gas and treat yourself to a little SUP workout, you can then enjoy a hearty meal in one of the countless great restaurants in Cittanova, as Novigrad is also known.

Alternative: If the tour is too long for you, you can halve it and end it in the bay of Karigador. There is either a shuttle vehicle waiting at the free parking lot right by the water, or you can walk a few meters to the bus stop and take a 10-minute ride back to Novigrad. However, there are only a few buses per day, so you need to plan the start of the tour accordingly to avoid long waiting times.

You can also paddle this tour the other way round, depending on the wind direction. If you are staying in Novigrad, for example, you can start in Karigador and paddle only half the distance to Novigrad.